I have enough beads to play with!
Said no bead enthusiast ever!
Do you need a motivation to order new beads for new experiments? I don’t!
Potomac Bead Company sample pack of new beads caught my eye, and I immediately thought of quick and small bead projects. Why not try new beads?
Three Earring Designs – One Bead Sample Package
Unpacking the sampler was fun. It included 20 new types of beads and almost half of the I did not try in my beadwork yet! So many ideas ran through my mind. Of course, I wanted to use as many sample beads in one newly designed item as possible. It would be my challenge, and I like challenges!
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However, once I started experimenting, I noticed how I might sacrifice the balance of the design for the numeric achievement – unreasonably.
Beading is not a sport. In the end, it is the design that matters!
To avoid the super achiever rush, I picked a set of beads consisting of Delica and Japanese seed beads in colors similar to one of the samples in the package.
Earring Design #1
First earring design formed around Navettes.
Two color palette was a safe choice. I could wear this pair of earring with almost anything.
Round Duo Mini beads became little accent points around the focal crystal of Amethyst color. The seed beads completed the design idea, and voilà! I had a new pair of earrings! Since I was listening to Chopin music while I was making them, I called them Chopin earrings.
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Sample Beads for Design #1:
Potomac Bead Company Navettes Amethyst
Potomac Bead Company Roundelles Metallic Half Silver
Round Duo Mini Aluminum
Earring Design #2
The second design was inspired by the faceted drop crystals I had on my beading mat at the moment. They sparked my imagination (literary) connecting in my mind the dew drops on grass leaves in early summer morning with leafy jewelry designs historically present in almost any culture. I also liked how 4 mm Preciosa Rosemonties added more sparkles to the design.
As a result, the new earrings looked like drops of water slipping along tiny leaves.
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Sample Beads for Design #2:
Storm Duo Aluminum Silver
Round Trio Crystal Vitrail
Earring Design #3
Third earring design idea required more time than the previous two. I wanted to CRAW! (Who doesn’t?)
On the other hand, I found simple CRAW elements fun to make. They are even more exciting to combine with different geometric shapes because I can choose them to be anything I like – geometric, or not!
If you haven’t tried CRAW stitch yet, try my basic video tutorial:
Sample Beads for Design #3:
Potomac Bead Company Baguettes Light Colorado Topaz
There are beads that were in the package, but I did not design anything with them. Yet! There is still time!
Which one of the earring designs did you like most?
